User blog:Matt Hadick/Fan Facts: Let's Play Horror Games
Sure, horror movie can be terrifying, but there’s nothing quite like the jump scare you experience while playing a horror game. So for Halloween this weekend, help get yourself in the spooky frame of mind by watching these game streamers make their way through some of the scariest horror games of the past year. Until Dawn At first glance, Until Dawn seems to put the player at the center of a classic horror scenario: a group of teenagers partying at a cabin in the woods are pursued by an evil creature out for blood. As the game progresses, however, things take a turn for psychological terror, as the decisions made by the player indirectly influence the horror. Watch the guys from Let’s Play try their best to keep things lighthearted despite the fear-inducing scenarios: SOMA Taking inspiration from science fiction horror films like Alien and Event Horizon, SOMA takes place in an underwater research laboratory in the northern part of the Atlantic ocean. You play as Simon Jarrett, whose life is in disarray following a car crash that kills his friend Ashley and leaves Simon with severe brain injuries. To alleviate lingering medical issues, Simon agrees to be a subject in an experimental medical procedure and, to his surprise, wakes up 100 years later in an underwater research laboratory, his consciousness still unreliable. On top of that, the machines built to maintain the facility and send items into space seem to be developing their own sentience. Watch streamer Cryaotic try to figure out just what on (or off) Earth is going on: Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 The surprise hit from designer Scott Cawthon has become a YouTube favorite for the terrifying effect it has on Let’s Players. Featuring more jump scares than you can shake an animatronic arm at, the fourth iteration of the the game has players exploring a house as a child, evading nightmare versions of the series’ animatronic characters using only a flashlight. Watch Michael and Gavin cower in fear at imaginary animatronic monsters: Bloodborne While From Software’s notoriously difficult adventure isn’t a horror game in the conventional sense, it has more than enough gothic atmosphere and grotesque imagery to make up for its lack of cheap jump scares. Players assume the role of the Hunter and seek the source of a blood-borne plague that has ravaged the dilapidating city of Yharnam, doing battle against nightmarish monsters. The cries of pain and suffering escaping the windows of Yharnam’s homes is enough to make your stomach turn. Watch Let’s Player EpicNameBro try his hand at Bloodborne: Dying Light Dying Light merges the free run mechanics of Mirror’s Edge with the zombie masses of games like Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead. It puts players right at the center of a massive zombie outbreak, where they must use their acrobatic prowess and resourcefulness to survive. A robust cooperative mode further enhances the experience. Watch Youtube TheRadBrad attempt to survive the plague: Outlast If you think that a psychiatric hospital overrun with homicidal maniacs seems like the perfect environment for a terrifying time, you’re absolutely right. In Outlast, that’s exactly where players will find themselves, playing as a journalist armed only with a notebook and a camcorder. While no scoop is worth the amount of psychological turmoil that accompanies watching psychopaths engage in disturbing behavior, watching streamers endure the suffering for you is a great way to spend your Halloween. Watch YouTube superstar PewDiePie skulk around the institution: Alien: Isolation Ridley Scott’s film Alien is terrifying in its minimalistic portrayal of hunter and hunted in the tight quarters of a spacecraft. By incorporating a sophisticated AI system that makes the alien unpredictably intelligent, Alien: Isolation is the first Alien game to adequately achieve the sense of claustrophobia and isolation that made the movie so irresistibly dread-inducing. The game is further elevated with convincing art direction and level design that invoke the classic science fiction aesthetic of its source material. Watch Christopher Odd try his best to escape the alien mouth-hole: Resident Evil HD Remaster What would Halloween be without a jaunt through Raccoon City? With the release of a remake of the original Resident Evil, vacationing in the zombie-infested town has never been easier. Relive the spine-tingling dread and emaciated zombie-dogs that kicked off the world’s biggest survival horror franchise in beautiful HD. It’s something that you, master of unlocking, owe to yourself this Halloween weekend. Watch GirlGamerGaB investigate Raccoon City’s zombie infestation: Spooky’s House of Jump Scares Who says jump scares aren’t allowed to be absolutely adorable? That’s the premise of Spooky’s House of Jump Scares, a game that will truly frighten and delight you, usually in that order. I mean, there are also plenty of pools of blood and soul sucking demon spawn, but hey, the graphics are pixelated, so it’s kind of endearing! Watch Markiplier scream at the utter cuteness: Layers of Fear One of the biggest horror surprises of the year, Layers of Fear is about a painter who has gone utterly insane trying to create his masterpiece. Players are tasked with exploring a house that seems to change dramatically over time. Players witness the ghastly actions they’ve taken during alcohol-induced fugue states and try to piece together their last remaining pieces of sanity. Watch Mike and Ryan from Cinemassacre get the paint scared out of them: ---- Do you have a favorite spooky video not listed here? Share your own favorite horror-themed Let’s Plays in the comments! Category:Blog posts